Improved car-brake



V.; W. BLANCHARD.

"Car, Brake.

Patented Mar. 113, '1866- yUNITED STATES PATENT Trice.

VIRGIL W. BLANCHARD, OF BRIDPORT, VERMONT.

IMPROVED CAR-BRAKE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 53, |06, dated March 13, 1866.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, VIRGIL W. BLANCH- ARD, of Bridport, in the countyof Addison and State of Vermont, have invented a new and Improved Car-Brake; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and

'exact description thereof, which will enable those skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figures 1 and 2 are side views of a car-truck with my improvement applied to it, Fig. l representing the brake off, so that the wheels are allowed to rotate freely, and Fig. 2 representing the brake applied. y

Similar letters of reference .indicate corresponding parts.

Thisinvention consists in combining with shoes which act upon or against the tread or periphery of the car-wheels shoes which are made to bear upon the upper surfaces of the rails, all the shoes being applied and arranged in such a manner as to act simultaneously, and the shoes which bear upon the rails applied or actuated by power produced by those shoes which act against the wheels when the former are in contact with the latter, as hereinafter fully shown and described.

A represents an ordinary car-truck, B the wheels thereof, and C the axles. These parts, being of ordinary construction, require no special description.

D represents the shoes which act against the treads 0r peripheries of the wheels B. These shoes are connected, by pivots a, to bars E, which are iitted in the truck-frame in such a manner that they may rise and fall freely therein, and also be adjusted laterally, so as to press the shoes D against the treads or peripheries of the wheels B.

The lower ends of the bars E, at each side of the truck, are connected, by pivots b, to the outer ends of the levers F F, the fulcra c of which are at the lower ends of the pedestals Gr of thetruck.

H is a bar which is suspended transversely to the truck A, between the wheels of the two axles C C, said bar being suspended, by rods I, from the ends of springs J, attached to the truck. To each end of the bar H there is attached a shoe, K, and these shoes are directly over the rails L. The springs J are designed to keep the shoes K up free from the rails L.

To each end of the bar H a lever, M, is attached by a staple d, and these levers, near their outer ends, are connected, bylinks N, to the lower parts of the pedestals G, said links being provided with oblong slots e at their upper ends, through which the pins c, which serve as fulcra for the levers F. pass. These oblong slots admit of a certain degree of vertical play of the links.

From the above description it will be seen that when the shoes D are pressed against the treads or peripheries of the wheels B the shoes which bear against the forward or front edges of the wheels will be pressed down, and those which bear against the rear sides of the other pair of wheels will be forced upward, the shoes on account of being attached by pivots a to the bars E, adjusting themselves to the wheels B. (See Fig. 2, in which the direction of the rotation of the wheels is indicated by arrow l, and the movement of the shoes D by arrows 2 and 3.) This downward-and-upward movement of the shoes D, caused/ by their pressure against the wheels B, communicates a correspondin g movement .to the bars E, and the latter actuate the levers F, moving them in the direction indicated by the arrows 4, and causing them to press down the levers M, and consequently the bar H, so that the shoes K will be pressed upon the rails L. This result is,

attained when the car is moving in either direction.

It will be seen that the slotted links N admit of the levers M rising and falling vertically, serving as guides for the latter.

By this simple arrangement a very efficient car-brake is obtained, and one which may be manipulated lwith equally as great facility as those in common use.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. The employment or use of pivoted shoes D, connected to rising-and-falling bars E, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The levers F M, connected with the shoebars E H, for the purpose of transmitting power from the shoes D to the shoes K, substantially as described.

3. The suspending of the shoe-bar H frorn springs attached to the truck-frame, substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. The slotted links N, applied to the levers M and pedestals G, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The use of the pivotedrubbers D, bearing against the Wheels B, in combination with the levers F M, links N, and shoes K, all be- .ing arranged in such a manner that if the Wheels revolve in either direction the force or power that results from the contact of the rubber and wheels Will be applied to the shoes over the rails, substantially as described.

VIRGIL W. BLANCHARD. Witnesses:

LUTHER SMITH, FRANGIs A. WELLs. 

